Dozens of bushfires burned across south-eastern Australia on Saturday (January 18) as milder temperatures brought relief to firefighters.
Extreme heat and high winds fanned dozens of bushfires across Australia for the past few days, forcing hundreds to flee their homes in some of the worst conditions seen since Black Saturday in 2009.
One person died in the Grampians bushland in Victoria, about 300km (186 miles) west of Melbourne, where bushfires are burning out of control amid temperatures which have hit above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F), destroying or damaging houses.
In South Australia, 12 homes were destroyed by fires.
Australia's south and south-east have been in the grip of a heatwave for nearly a week, with climate experts warning of even longer and hotter heatwaves to come, raising questions about its long-term position as an agricultural powerhouse.

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